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"Oh, that's one of your students, isn't it"? Even typing that sentence out, I cringe a little-but I cringe even more when I hear it. As a special education teacher, whose students tend to need more support and supervision, I understand the struggle that comes with working with students who have learning disabilities. Yet when I hear that question from a colleague, it makes me wonder, "Why are we treating them like my students or your students? Why do we not work as a team when the success of all students is ultimately our responsibility?"

At the start of this year, I decided to change a few things with one of my co-teachers, and we came up with a few simple ideas that have created very positive impacts in our classroom.

3 Strategies for Better Co-teaching

1. We work as a team and make sure our students know it: Working together is a vital part of being a successful co-teaching team. One way to further increase the effectiveness is to plan less and grade our students' growth together. Now, this sounds like extra work for the special education teacher who also has other students on their caseload and needs to keep track of their specific data, but finding the time to work as a planning and evaluative team will pay off for all students in the room.

As we grade together, we know students' struggles and successes precisely. This makes our co-planning sessions efficient and effective, and we can co-create the success criteria we want to see our students achieve.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but I feel it has had one of the most significant impacts on how our co-teaching classroom has functioned. Since the start of the year, both my co-teacher and I have expressed that we are both the teacher for the room. We constantly reinforce that idea throughout the week as we are equally teaching together. Even before the students were in our room, we would complete home visits together. Throughout our mini-lessons, we talk about how we are planning their learning together and decide as a team what their next steps and goals should be.

2. We make sure we work with all groups of students: Working with all of the students in the room is one of the fundamental reasons co-teaching is an effective teaching practice. One flaw I have seen is that as teachers we gravitate toward certain groups more. My co-teacher and I decided to plan specifically to see all students throughout the lesson, pulling different students constantly.

There are multiple benefits to this. The first is that you can see all of the students in the room at some point in time. That way, you know how all of the students are doing as they are mastering the content. The second is that neither teacher gets burned out when working with more challenging students. This works both ways. Just as teachers get frustrated, students' patience can wear thin with their teachers. Lastly, each teacher has a chance to teach to their strengths. This allows the students to hear the lesson from different viewpoints, increasing their odds of finding a method that resonates. While planning together, you can devise specific groups that each teacher will work with. This gives students a chance to see the same problem solved multiple ways.

Ultimately, the goal is for both teachers to be working with all students, and if a stranger walked into the room, they would not be able to tell the general education teacher from the special education teacher, or the gen ed students from the special ed students.

3. We equally hand out positive reinforcement and redirect negative be​​​​​​​havior: In many rooms that I have been in, the teacher and I have shared correcting negative behaviors but have not shared rewarding students for positive behaviors. It can be draining always having to play the bad guy with your students.

What my co-teacher and I have done in our room is intentionally share the responsibility of both rewards and consequences. We share the load of correcting behaviors and having those difficult conversations with students. We also share handing out prizes and reward lunches with the students we see being leaders in the classroom. This includes meeting with parents, whether that is to discuss positive behaviors or to address concerns.

The students know that either of us can hand out positive rewards as well as correct negative behavior. Usually when a student is having an exceptionally difficult day, we will tell them that we as teachers need to talk about their next steps together so that we are on the same page. This has proved helpful to the room because if one of us is absent or stuck in a meeting, the behavioral expectations remain constant.

These simple co-teaching changes may seem like minor things to incorporate into your classroom, but they will create a significant difference in how the students interact with both adults and one another. Co-teaching builds a team mentality, not only with the teachers but also with the students in the room. It's not always perfect, as there are days that we as co-teachers step on each other's toes, but what we have seen is that when we work as a team for our students, the return from them is great.

These changes need to be implemented purposefully and consistently to see the difference with your students. Change doesn't happen overnight, but when you and your co-teacher have a mindset to help all students in the classroom, you're on the right track.

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3 Keys to More Effective Collaboration in an Inclusive Classroom

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"Oh, that's one of your students, isn't it"? Even typing that sentence out, I cringe a little-but I cringe even more when I hear it. As a special education teacher, whose students tend to need more support and supervision, I understand the struggle that comes with working with students who have learning disabilities.

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conversations with researchers and Educators

The collection of knowledge and advice about best practices in literacy education is always evolving. This is both a gift and a challenge. In my new podcast for educators,I interview leading researchers and scholars to understand current, relevant, and digestible answers to all things literacy, learning, and best-practice, regardless of an educator's approach to literacy instruction. I'm joined by colleagues from my consulting team, and classroom educators, to debrief the researcher interview and answer the question, "How will we take what we've learned to the classroom?"

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To the Classroom: Conversations with Researchers and Educators - Jennifer Serravallo Author & Consulting

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Jennifer Serravallo interviews leading researchers and scholars about important findings, and has post-interview conversations about practical takeaways with colleagues from her consulting team.

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Administration & Leadership

An overview of different models two teachers can use to work together to meet the needs of every student in an inclusive classroom.

Co-teaching, also known as team-teaching or collaborative team-teaching, can successfully meet the needs of learners with diverse abilities simultaneously, in the same classroom. As a principal, I guided my staff to instruct all learners in an inclusive general education classroom-the least restrictive environment-as much as was appropriate.

But it wasn't an easy process. Paradigms about how the needs of children with individualized education programs (IEPs) could be best served needed to change. With two or more adults assigned to a room, both had to learn to work collaboratively to define the roles, responsibilities, routines, and assessment processes in a shared setting.

It took time, with a continued focus on our goals, to figure out the many complicated pieces of our schoolwide plan. Fortunately, our desire to teach kids in an inclusive environment coincided with a statewide initiative in Ohio called Leadership for Results, a collaborative professional development program for principals and teachers sponsored by the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators and the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators.

Searle outlines a vision of four co-teaching models: Speak and Help, Speak and Chart, Speak and Add, and Duet.

1. Speak and Help

In this model, when one teacher presents a lesson, the other is focused on formative assessment-using a wide variety of methodologies to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension.

By discreetly moving throughout the room, the "helper" assists with prompts, redirecting, time-on-task, and questions, and assesses understanding of all students during the lesson and independent work time.

2. speak and chart

This is a strong model for teachers with limited experience working together, especially when one of them feels unsure about the content. This option also works with paraprofessionals, students, or volunteers as the charting partner. One teacher presents verbally while the second teacher presents visually.

The visual presentation can be completed in multiple, creative ways. Examples might include note taking, demonstrating math problems on the blackboard, science demonstrations, collecting student responses for everyone to see, and more. Many students will benefit from the simultaneous auditory and visual presentations and the modeling.

3. speak and add

In this model, one teacher presents key ideas while the second gives examples. Stories, jokes, and other engaging instructional strategies add interest to the lesson. Changing voice, pitch, and pace can sustain students' attention and helps reinforce the key points. This model enables each teacher to monitor student responses as the partner presents.

To speak and add effectively, teachers must demonstrate rapport and mutually design a well-planned lesson. The outcome is the development of a more effective repertoire of modifications and adaptations than one teacher alone can create and implement.

With successful duet models, students accept both teachers as their lead instructor. Responsibility for success is equally shared. Duet is the most complex version of co-teaching.

Both teachers must share an easy flow of "give and take" as they work and interact with each other. Good flow doesn't happen unless teachers have time to create an organized plan and practice for the lesson.

Most co-teaching teams realize that implementing a combination of the four models makes sense. All models require preplanning, attention to grade-level indicators, and a focus on each student's unique needs. With each model, the special education teacher (or paraprofessional) provides instruction to a diverse group of students, including those with IEPS or other specific needs.

As years go by, the teacher teams will change. When assisting teachers with the development of new partnerships, principals need to share their vision and commitment to co-teaching, and engage in collaborative planning with the expectation that there's parity in roles and responsibilities. They must assess professional development needs and actively participate in the ongoing delivery of support for all teachers. Professional development, targeted to help all students achieve at high levels, must always evolve and never stop.

Any adaptation of Speak and Help, Speak and Chart, Speak and Add, or Duet is better than Sit and Watch, a situation in which one teacher in the pair is passively present. Both teachers can and should make valuable contributions every day.

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An overview of different models two teachers can use to work together to meet the needs of every student in an inclusive classroom.

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3 Tips for Co-teaching Multilingual Students

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Effective collaboration between language specialists and content teachers can help multilingual students succeed. We often teach the way we were taught. When I became a language specialist, I parroted the well-meaning intentions of my teachers by pulling multilingual learners (MLs) out of their classes to receive dedicated English instruction.

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Knowing the pros and cons of the six models of co-teaching can help teachers determine which one is best for a given lesson.

Bob Daemmrich / Alamy Stock Photo

One Teaching, One Observing: One teacher is directly instructing students while the other observes students for evidence of learning.

One Teaching, One Assisting: One teacher is directly instructing students while the other assists individual students as needed.

Parallel Teaching: The class is divided into two groups and each teacher teaches the same information at the same time.

Station Teaching: Each teacher teaches a specific part of the content to different groups as they rotate between teachers.

Alternative Teaching: One teacher teaches the bulk of the students, and the other teaches a small group based on need.

Team Teaching: Both teachers are directly instructing students at the same time-sometimes called "tag team teaching."

Teachers who are assigned co-teaching roles often have little experience or training in co-teaching. Learning what works and what doesn't often must come with experience. And teachers don't always get to choose who they teach with, which adds an extra layer of challenge because it can leave the individuals' roles in the lesson planning phase and during instruction blurry.

Teaching partners should consider each model's purpose and merit before deciding which to use for a particular lesson or part of a lesson. Considering the benefits of each model should help teachers determine which to use for a given lesson.

6 Models of Co-Teaching: Pros and Cons

One Teaching, One Observing: As a supervisor, I've seen this model implemented both with purpose and without. It takes time to develop a working relationship with another teacher. When the relationship isn't working, this model appears more often, and often without purpose.

When one teacher is directly instructing the students, the other should be observing. The observing teacher is collecting data, which can be useful in determining what instruction takes place next, which students need additional help, and what co-teaching model may be used next to address any identified needs.

Pros: less time collaborating, less interruption, more focused and purposeful data collection.

Cons: loss of one instructor, can be used too often due to a lack of planning or a lack of content knowledge or self-efficacy, can be underutilized for its intended purpose without focused data collection.

One Teaching, One Assisting: This model is often implemented in a one-sided fashion, with one teacher left in the role of assistant. This model can be extremely useful if the teachers swap roles so that both gain comfort in teaching the content and in assisting students one-on-one. Being professional and looking for signs that students are either not on task or are struggling with the content and sharing those signs with the other teacher can mean the difference between a student's success or failure in a lesson.

Pros: less interruption between teachers, more eyes on students to identify those in need.

Cons: loss of one instructor, can be used too often due to a lack of planning or a lack of content knowledge or self-efficacy, can be underutilized for its intended purpose without a focused group of students to assist based on the lesson design.

Parallel Teaching: I've seen parallel teaching work extremely well-it can be a great way to reduce the feel of a larger class. By breaking the students into two groups and teaching the lesson simultaneously, more students can get the close, small-group instruction that research indicates helps struggling learners. More students have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the process than they would in a larger group.

This is also a great model when the content is extremely challenging because it allows each teacher to really differentiate instruction for each student in the smaller group.

Pros: smaller instructional groups, more time for students to fill in instructional gaps, classroom management is easier.

Cons: difficult logistics, takes more time to collaboratively plan, requires that both teachers have content expertise.

Station Teaching: Station teaching is a way for each teacher to own a piece of the content and replicate that piece of the lesson multiple times within the same period with different groups of students. Unlike parallel teaching, teachers using this model can each focus more on a specific part of the lesson as groups rotate through each teacher's station. Additional stations that aren't led by one of the two teachers can foster students' independence and give them time to practice the material.

Pros: capitalizes on each teacher's strengths, smaller instructional groups, refined lesson planning.

Cons: takes more time to plan, requires good timing on the part of both teachers.

Alternative Teaching: I've seen teachers use this model to help a small group of students accelerate their learning, catch up on missed content, or fill in their gaps in understanding. The keys are finding space so that the other students are not disrupted while this small-group instruction is taking place, and ensuring that students in the small group don't miss new information.

Pros: gives students opportunities to close instructional gaps, can help students with chronic absenteeism, focuses resources on a target student population.

Cons: requires dual planning of time and content so that there's no missed instruction.

Team Teaching: A true team-teaching lesson is a thing of beauty. Two teachers whose personalities complement each other offer benefits for all students in the classroom. Getting to this point requires years of experience, collaborative planning, and a positive, professional relationship that is always being refined and improved. Supervisors and principals need to know that this model can be achieved by making the teaching pairs a priority when scheduling the building.

Pros: capitalizes on two teachers' expertise and instructional strategies, gives both teachers the spotlight in front of the entire class.

Cons: often requires experience in working together (although it can be done with a new pair of team-teachers), immense planning, and a healthy relationship in order to work.

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Knowing the pros and cons of the six models of co-teaching can help teachers determine which one is best for a given lesson. Bob Daemmrich / Alamy Stock Photo One Teaching, One Observing: One teacher is directly instructing students while the other observes students for evidence of learning.

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Chett & Juan Carlos - Team Teaching .MOV

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The person that I was before I started listening to podcasts pales in comparison to the person I am today. I have laughed, cried, changed my mind, picked up new habits, adopted new behaviors, started businesses, learned to forgive, and stopped to catch my breath - all while listening to podcasts.

I want you to have the same life-altering experience! This podcast will give you greater access to the content of my blog in a convenient, travel-friendly way.

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This is a podcast for teachers passionate about language learners. I interview leading academic, sought-after consultants, and inspiring teachers like you.

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On the Highest Aspirations Podcast, we engage in important conversations about the most rapidly growing student demographic in the United States - English Language Learners. We speak with educators and students, researchers and policy makers, and parents and community members about how we can help all students reach their highest aspirations.

Join us on this important journey as we bring the vibrant ELL Community together around the topics that matter most to the students we serve.

On the Highest Aspirations Podcast, we engage in important conversations about the most rapidly growing student demographic in the United States - English Language Learners. We speak with educators and students, researchers and policy makers, and parents and community members about how we can help all students reach their highest aspirations.

Join us on this important journey as we bring the vibrant ELL Community together around the topics that matter most to the students we serve.

Highest Aspirations

Great podcast! The subjects/topics discussed are relevant, and the host has a passion for ELs and it reflects over the sound waves. Always a pleasure to listen to them and learn new things!

In Depth Look at EL Education

This podcast takes a thoughtful look at K-12 issues in EL education. I appreciate how well this podcast frames issues from an evidence-based, equity-focused lens.

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On the Highest Aspirations Podcast, we engage in important conversations about the most rapidly growing student demographic in the United States - English Language Learners. We speak with educators and students, researchers and policy makers, and parents and community members about how we can help a...

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Natalie Wexler, education journalist and author of "The Knowledge Gap," hosts the inaugural series of our new podcast, Reading Comprehension Revisited.

In six short (~30-minute) episodes, Natalie tackles crucial questions such as, why do students from low-income backgrounds typically score lower on reading tests? Why do improvements in the early grades fade out as students advance to higher levels? And most significantly, why haven't substantial investments in education reform delivered expected results?

The answer lies in a longstanding misunderstanding about reading comprehension itself, and how students learn to make meaning from texts. Over six episodes, you'll learn what research tells us about how children really learn to read, and you'll hear from educators from around the country as they share their experiences of embedding knowledge-building into their literacy instruction, and the powerful effects this change has had on their students.
Episode 1: "Kids were bored to death"
June 28, 2023 - Despite substantial investments in education reform, the US remains in the grip of a decades-long reading crisis. But why? With the help of teachers and researchers, host Natalie Wexler introduces the urgent need to revisit our approach to reading comprehension.
Episode 2: "A simple way of looking at a complex problem"
June 28, 2023 - Thanks to tireless efforts by researchers, advocates, and educators, the importance of systematically teaching decoding is finally being recognized. But, as you'll hear, there's far more to reading than decoding, and more we need to do to help our kids become truly literate.
Episode 3: "That cloud looks like an anvil"
July 5, 2023 - Abby Boruff, Deloris Fowler, and Kyair Butts teach different ages and subjects, in different parts of the country. When their schools adopted knowledge-building curricula they were skeptical, but the dramatic results they saw in their classrooms helped change their minds.
Episode 4: "Now they had something to write about"
July 12, 2023 - It's hard to read about a topic you don't have knowledge about, but it's virtually impossible to write about it. By having students write about content they're learning about, knowledge-building curricula boost both writing ability and learning in general.
Episode 5: "Everything was in silos"
July 19, 2023 - To become fully literate, many students need a curriculum that builds knowledge in a logical, coherent way across grade levels, and only a leader can put that kind of system in place. Meet Brent Conway and Dr. LaTonya Goffney, two leaders who did exactly that.
Episode 6: "Think what a better society we'll have"
July 26, 2023 - American education has a number of serious problems - and our failure to start building kids' knowledge early is a fundamental one. But there are ways to ensure that the growing trend toward knowledge-building curriculum takes root and spreads.

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Natalie Wexler, education journalist and author of "The Knowledge Gap," hosts the inaugural series of our new podcast, Reading Comprehension Revisited. In six short (~30-minute) episodes, Natalie tackles crucial questions such as, why do students from low-income backgrounds typically score lower on reading tests?

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ELLSA - Boosting Confidence and Engagement Through Co-Teaching